Jessica Chastain's had an incredibly good run of prestige films in the brief span of time that she's been in Hollywood: Take Shelter, Coriolanus, Tree of Life, The Help, and this summer's Lawless have made quite the highlight reel. So it was inevitable that the starlet would pop up in a horror film sooner or later. Might as well be a spooky one like the Guillermo Del Toro-executive produced Mama, right?more »

Director John Hillcoat spent ample time in the the American South, the setting for his latest bootlegging drama Lawless. Starring Shia Labeouf, Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Guy Pearce, Jessica Chastain and Mia Wasikowska, the film is inspired by the true-life stories of Matt Bondurant's own family in his novel, The Wettest County in the World and adapted for the screen by rocker Nick Cave. Lawless begins its roll out in the U.S. Friday.more »

As rollicking and rough as a drive down a dirt road with no suspension, Lawless is a tale of three-bootlegging brothers from Prohibition-era Franklin County, Virginia, who are, in the words of one character, some "hard-ass crackers." Directed by Australia's John Hillcoat (The Road) and written by musician Nick Cave (who's adapted Matt Bondurant's historical novel The Wettest County in the World), Lawless is, like their last collaboration The Proposition, a kind of remixed Western at heart. It's a story in which the law and the outlaws are equally outsized and dangerous — and a world in which the fighting has nothing to do with keeping order and everything to do with displays of strength. more »

Speculation ran somewhat rampant that Katheryn Bigelow received inside help in crafting her latest action-thriller Zero Dark Thirty, her upcoming follow-up to her Oscar-winning turn with The Hurt Locker. Tempers flared when President Obama's administration was accused of giving Bigelow insight into the mission that killed al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden back in May 2011, but she denied the access. Originally set for an October 2012 release, Sony delayed the date so as to avoid being further embroiled in any political controversy ahead of the U.S. election in November. Coming in at one-minute, fifteen seconds, the teaser is definitely that.more »

Jessica Chastain can hold her own with British royalty when it comes to fashion. The Tree of Life actresss and the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, each adorn a cover of Vanity Fair magazine's September Style issue, which includes the magazine's annual International Best Dressed List. more »

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has just named its pair of the sexiest herbivores and no shock here, they're celebrities. There were some downright good looking contenders for this year's organically grown animal-friendly crowns, including people across the age spectrum, from Alyssa Milano, Anne Hathaway, Chrissie Hynde, Ashley Judd, Cloris Leachman, Ellen DeGeneres, Hayden Panettiere, Rooney Mara and Venus Williams among the women, while the hot veggie dudes include Casey Affleck, Bill Clinton, Forest Whitaker, Joaquin Phoenix, Jason Schwartzman, Mike Tyson, Moby, Mos Def, Prince, Richard Linklater and Tobey Maguire. In all 100 men and women were up for PETA's "Sexiest Vegetarian Celebrities" of 2012. And the winners are...more »

Both of the trailers that preceded the screening I attended of Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted featured burps as punchlines. Like, each one built to and then peaked with a bug-eyed animated creature’s belch. After the first burp the little kids a few rows ahead of me erupted in jubilant, little kid laughter; the second was met with bored silence. If even your short-limbed target audience doesn’t like being played for a chump, how to keep them entertained across two previews, much less two sequels?

Also in Tuesday morning's news round up: Icon will produce Lee Daniels' next project, James McAvoy and Jessica Chastain team for a double-feature, Zac Efron and Seth Rogen will pair for a new project, and more...more »

Born in Australia and raised in Canada, John Hillcoat spent a lot of time in America growing up taking family vacations through the American south, which provides the backdrop for his Cannes competition feature Lawless, which will have its world premiere here Saturday night. Starring Shia Labeouf, Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Guy Pearce, Jessica Chastain and Mia Wasikowska, the film is inspired by the true-life stories of Matt Bondurant's own family in his novel, The Wettest County in the World and adapted for the screen by rocker Nick Cave. Lawless centers on the Bondurant brothers, gangsters who sought success bootlegging in Prohibition-era Virginia.more »

Undoubtedly there will be tons of photographers and screaming fans outside as Ben Stiller, Jessica Chastain, Chris Rock, Martin Short, Jada Pinkett-Smith and David Schwimmer ascend the steps at the Palais des Festivals for the world premiere of their latest film. And it will be the best look at them that the crowd will have all night, particularly since they won't be onscreen — the movie is Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted.more »

The influential, Oscar-nominated talent whose breakout year included six roles has taken to her Facebook page to officially pass on Iron Man 3: "My schedule is jammed packed and I can't fit anything else in. The press announced my possible attachment far too soon. I know many of you wanted me to be involved, and I'm so sorry to disappoint you. Hopefully there'll be another Marvel film in my future. Shane Black and everyone on the IM3 team are really wonderful. I'm very excited to see the film when it comes out." Asked for their reactions, every other young actress in Hollywood sighed in unison, "Finally." [Facebook via ComicBookMovie]

Scan the latest from a busy Monday news day in Movieline's newly minted Biz Break. Following this morning's edition of the new column is a slew of casting news from Iron Man 3 to Woody Allen's next project, while the folks at CAA caught a surprise break from the office today thanks to a power outage.more »

For the 14th consecutive year, the folks at Time Magazine have once again passed me over when considering their annual roster of the world's 100 Most Influential People. Heretics! So be it — even an incomplete list is worth visiting judgment upon. Let's check out (and rank, naturally) the film personalities included this year. And to my publicist: You're fired!more »

He's played cops, a count, Houdini, a time traveler, a king, and even a drag queen, but in this week's Lockout, Guy Pearce treads new ground as an all-out action hero -- not that he necessarily sees things that way. "People used to say that about L.A. Confidential," he recalled to Movieline recently in Los Angeles. "They’d go, ‘Wow, so you’re an action hero!’ I’d be like, action hero? It’s a ‘50s film noir!" Even still, after 20+ years of acting, most recently in a string of acclaimed supporting turns (see: The King's Speech, The Hurt Locker, Animal Kingdom, Mildred Pierce), it's only now that Pearce is laying claim to the title, guns blazing.more »